


Strawberry Headband

by strawberry_justaway



Category: Gintama
Genre: Banter, GinHiji - Freeform, Humor, Pre-Slash, Slow Build, canon typical crudeness, developing feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 05:01:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21440626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberry_justaway/pseuds/strawberry_justaway
Summary: Hijikata has been putting off getting a haircut. Sougo "helps" him. Gintoki laughs first, and then helps. They share a moment.
Relationships: Hijikata Toshirou/Sakata Gintoki
Comments: 14
Kudos: 161





	Strawberry Headband

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if it is specific to my country/region/background to call a headband an alice band. If there is any confusion, that is what it is!

Hijikata frowned as he tried to read back through the notes he had taken. His growing hair kept falling in front of his eyes. He really was long overdue for a haircut: it tickled his neck in the back and was getting very impractical in the front. He really didn't want long hair again – and it would be too much of a hassle to grow it out anyway.

He was on patrol with Sougo and needed to check through the notes they had taken last week. The old guy in front of them _claimed_ this was the first time they had told he couldn't erect a sign advertising his half-price daikon in the middle of the street, but Hijikata knew for a fact they had given him an official warning last week and just needed to find the proof to shove in front of his face.

He was so intently focused on his notes and fidgeting with the strands of hair that kept creeping into his line of sight, that he didn't realize Sougo had crept up on him and invaded his space. The next thing he knew, Sougo had slammed something onto his head and his fringe was no longer in front of his eyes.

“What...?” he raised one of his hands to touch whatever it was that Sougo had stuck on his head. He touched soft fabric and was about to rip whatever it was off when he spotted the Yorozuya walking down the street. Gintoki stared at him for a brief moment, eyes wide, though he quickly recovered and shot him an amused smile.

“Suits you!” called Gintoki as he passed them. His smile grew wider but he didn't stop. He raised his hand to wave them goodbye without looking back.

“What the hell...” Hijikata finally grabbed what was on his head and pulled it off. It was an alice band. A pink one with large strawberries printed on it.

“Sougo!” he shouted, drawing his sword. Sougo laughed in his face, equally drawing his sword and easily blocking Hijikata's attack.

“I was only trying to help you keep your hair out of your eyes, Hijikata-san,” he told him. “It's a safety hazard to have your hair in your face like that. I was really just looking out for you ~”

Hijikata roared and chased him down the street, old man and daikon sign forgotten.

  
  


***

A few days later, Hijikata was alone in the barracks. He had isolated himself in his room with the intent of staying put until he had finally finished going through Yamazaki's latest reports.

He had been at it for several hours now. He could feel his butt cheeks getting numb and it was getting harder and harder to read through Yamazaki's awful handwriting and cross out the regular occurrences of the word “anpan” that would pop up every couple of sentences without losing track of what Yamazaki was actually trying to say.

Of course, he would be getting this done a lot faster if he didn't have to stop every thirty seconds to push his damn hair out of his face. He had been swamped with work and still hadn't found the time for a haircut. So he kept pushing it back, but it refused to stay put, intent on constantly falling back into a V-shape and covering his eyes. Hijikata groaned in frustration. There had to be some way of keeping it back.

He sighed as he remembered the strawberry  _thing_ that Sougo had subjected him to a few days prior. At least it would solve the problem, and it wasn't like anybody would see him. He got up from his sitting position, wincing as feeling came back into his legs and behind, and made his way over to the closet where he kept the miscellaneous items he didn't really have a correct place for. He fished around in one of the boxes and picked out the alice band, taking a moment to stare at it. Why had he even kept it in the first place? He'd been so pissed off with Sougo he hadn't even realized that he had shoved it into his jacket pocket until he had returned to the barracks. 

Hijikata decided the reasons behind keeping the ugly thing didn't really matter, seeing as it was going to have some use for him now. He pushed his hair back with one hand and then slipped the headband behind it to keep his hair in place. He was sure he looked ridiculous – there were no doubt strands of hair sticking up erect behind the stupid headband – but it was nice to actually be able to  _see_ for a change. 

He sat back down to work and felt relief wash over him at how much time he was saving thanks to the stupid strawberry headband. He got through several reports at record speed.

  
  


***

Several hours later, Hijikata stretched out his arms and rolled out the kink in his neck. It was early evening and he had finally finished. No more stupid anpan, no more stupid philosophical musings; he was done!

He had also finished off the last of his cigarettes. Grabbing his jacket, he left his room, deciding to go to the vending machine around the corner from the barracks. He put his hands in his pockets and made his way through the courtyard, not noticing the way several of his subordinates stopped and stared at him. As he approached the front gates Harada came to stand directly in front of him. He was looking at him, shocked and slightly panicked.

“Vice-Chief!” he began, only to be elbowed in the ribs by Sougo who had suddenly appeared beside him.

“Hush, Harada-san, can't you see our Vice-Chief is busy right now. Better not disturb him, don't you think?”

“But--” He was interrupted again when Sougo hit him over the back of the head with the handle of his sword.

“Really, Harada, you were wide open just there. I think we need to get in some more sparring practice for you.” Sougo grabbed him by the collar and dragged him off, waving at Hijikata with a huge over-exaggerated smile on his face. Hijikata quickened his pace, not wanting to be involved in whatever idiotic plan that bastard was setting up.

  
  


***

Hijikata happily retrieved his packet of cigarettes from the vending machine, immediately opening it and putting a cigarette in his mouth. Just as he was lighting it up, he heard the Yorozuya's voice next to him.

“So you actually wear that thing on a regular basis, huh?”

Hijikata froze, his free hand rising to his head in panicked realization. He ripped the headband off, letting his fringe fall back into his eyes. Gintoki laughed.

“So that's why you've been wearing it! And here I thought you were just getting in touch with your cute side...”

“Shut up!” Hijikata's cheeks reddened considerably. He clutched the stupid headband in his hand, gripping it tightly in frustration.

Gintoki was completely unfazed by his attitude. He leaned forward and picked up a strand from Hijikata's fringe by the tip, examining it.

“You know... I could take care of this for you,” he offered.

“What the hell are you talking about, Yorozuya?”

“Well, it's been a while since we had a hairdressing job, but it's not like it's uncommon as far as odd jobs go.”

“As if I would let you near me with your complete incompetence!”

“Oi, watch who you're calling incompetent! Who do you think took care of Zura's hair during the war? Have you seen how fussy he is about his hair? I had to make sure I got every strand of his fringe _just right_ if I didn”t want him to hit me!”

Hijikata thought about it for a moment. Katsura did have very well-kept hair. If he had let Gintoki come anywhere near it, then...

“Fine.”

Gintoki blinked. “You'll let me?”

“Name your price.”

Gintoki scratched the back of his neck, looking unsure. “I don't know, uh, 300 Yen?”

“That's why too little! You're clearly not used to setting your own prices! Just how poor are you anyway that that would seem a respectable amount!”

“Well, it's not like I'm sucking dry all the tax payers money!”

“Tch.” Hijikata turned away, biting down on his cigarette and trying to keep calm. “Whatever, I'll give you your 300 Yen. Let's get this done.”

Gintoki still looked a little surprised that Hijikata would agree so easily, but decided not to let on too much in case it made Hijikata draw back into his shell again.

“Sure. Let's find somewhere quiet.”

They walked in silence until they came to a bench by the river and sat down together. Gintoki rubbed his hand against his chin as he studied Hijikata's face.

“Hmm, this would be much easier with a kunai than with your sword.” He breathed in and then screamed at the top of his lungs, “SA-CHAN!”

“Yes!” cried Sarutobi, hanging upside down and leaning out of the canopy of a nearby tree. “I'm here Gin-san! I'll do whatever you want Gin-san!”

“Great, could you lend me a kunai?”

“A kunai for my Gin-san, of course! Which one would you like?” In a sudden flash, Sarutobi was stood in front of them, laying out about twenty or so kunai on a piece of cloth. “This one is engraved with a heart, this one is engraved with 'Gintoki x Sarutobi, this one....”

“Ah, uh, it's fine, just give me the one you think I would like...” She handed him a kunai with a crude engraving of her own naked body.

“I just know you would love to feel _this_ under your firm grip, wouldn't you, Gin-san?”

Gintoki's eyes twitched as a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. “Ah... Thank you... Sa-chan...” He began to feel uncomfortable under her intense, infatuated staring. He suddenly switched his attitude to an air of complete nonchalance, complete with his pinky rummaging in his nostril. “Say... I'm going to feel pretty thirsty after I'm done here... I'm sure I'm going to want to relax with some strawberry milk...”

“I'll get you some!”

“Ah, that's very kind of you, Sa-chan, but I'm only in the mood for a certain type of strawberry milk... one made with milk from a cow milked under the full moon... and from a cow named... uh, Akabeko.... and made with tochi otome strawberries picked by the hands of the small, pure-hearted children of the Tochigi Prefecture... Yes, that's the only thing that could possibly quench my thirst.”

Sarutobi looked determined. “Don't worry, my Gin-san! I'll be the one to bring this special delicacy to you!” She jumped up into the air, doing flips and handsprings off of the surrounding trees and roofs. “Anything for my Gin-saaaaaaaaan” she cried as she jumped away into the distance.

“Right, that should buy us some time!” said Gintoki happily.

“What the hell is wrong with you, you complete sadist! You're worse than Sougo!”

“Calm down, Hijikata-kun,” said Gintoki, batting his hand at him. “I got us a kunai, didn't I?”

“Tch.” Hijikata clicked his tongue. The Yorozuya's methods were always unconventional, to say the least, but he did usually get the job done, albeit in his roundabout way. His train of thought abruptly stopped, when he realized Gintoki was leaning in towards him with the kunai.

“Let's get this show on the road.” He was sat cross legged, facing Hijikata and gestured for him to do the same. Hijikata obliged, gaze set downwards, this was ridiculous. They both had their knees sticking out over the sides of the bench. “Move closer, will you?” Gintoki urged him. Hijikata obliged once more, scooting closer.

Gintoki held the kunai in one hand and picked up one of the strands from the middle of his hair in the other. Hijikata thought he was about to start cutting, but Gintoki let the strand drop, and picked up another. He pulled it down, released it, picked up another and repeated the cycle. He held the kunai up to Hijikata's face and tilted it diagonally, like an artist measuring his references to a landscape with his paintbrush. Hijikata hoped he actually knew what he was doing and wasn't just putting up an expert front. It occurred to him that he had placed an unreasonable amount of trust in Gintoki by letting him hold a kunai so close to his face. He could walk away from this blind, if that was what the Yorozuya chose for him.

Gintoki made the fist cut with the kunai, starting in the middle of Hijikata's forehead, at the dip in the shape. He then progressively made his way up on each side, checking the overall symmetry with each new cut he made. Once he had made his way to the tops of the V, he paused and studied Hijikata's face.

“What's wrong?” asked Hijikata. Gintoki looked at him thoughtfully.

“Are you growing your hair long again?”

“What?”

Gintoki shrugged. “Kondo showed me a picture once, of all of you, when you first arrived in Edo.” He looked away slightly. “I thought you might be growing it again, since you've let it get so long.” He paused and Hijikata was about to say something, but the words caught in his throat. Had he managed to say something, he would have missed Gintoki's following quiet words, “... it suited you.”

Hijikata was taken aback, and he could feel a slight heat rise in his cheeks. “Uh... thanks,” he replied, unsure of what to say.

Gintoki looked uncomfortable and abruptly turned away, facing towards the river. “I mean... not that it matters to me what you do. That's just my opinion. It doesn't really matter to me what you choose to do.” His cheeks had reddened too.

Hijikata held himself back from laughing. So apparently sincerity was the way to turn the Yorozuya tsundere. He would have to remember that.

“Well....” he began slowly, giving Gintoki the time to turn back towards him, “Yeah,” he said, surprising himself. “Yeah, I would like to grow it long again, I think.”

“OK,” said Gintoki, coming back to his usual demeanour. “Then how about I trim the outer strands a little less so we can let them grow longer with the rest of your hair.”

“Sounds good,” said Hijikata, letting the Yorozuya get to work. Gintoki made quick work of the shorter outer trims, though still working meticulously. Hijikata found it strange to be able to observe such a serious expression on the Yorozuya's face up close and for such a prolonged period of time. It really felt as if they were alone in the world in the peculiar atmosphere of greenery by the river and the orange light of the early evening. The soft lighting gave Gintoki's face a healthy glow as the warm rays hit his slightly tanned skin. His hair looked fiery as the flecks of orange light seemed to bleed in through the tips.

“Hey, Hijikata-kun....?”

Embarrassed, Hijikata realized he had been staring. “Uh...”

“I'm done,” Gintoki told him. Hijikata ran his fingers through his bangs. It certainly _felt_ like a job well done.

“Thanks, Yorozuya.” They stayed trapped in the moment just a little while longer, both looking at the other with an unfocused, easy gaze, and a slight smile tugging at their lips.

Gintoki moved first. He stretched and put his arms behind his head, and in one swift movement swung his legs back over the front of the bench. Hijikata turned to face the same way.

“Well, I guess I better head back,” said Hijikata.

Gintoki turned to look at him. “You know...” he began, and Hijikata couldn't say he liked the shift in tone in the Yorozuya's voice. Sure enough, he realized that Gintoki was now holding the idiotic headband. “You can actually still wear this even if you have bangs.”

Hijikata couldn't say why he didn't move as Gintoki arranged the alice band on his head. Maybe he was tired from Yamazaki's reports, maybe it was the torpor of being in the liminal space of the riverbank in the setting sun, or maybe it was because he had spent the past ten minutes immobile as Gintoki had worked on his hair. Whatever the reason, he allowed Gintoki to arrange the band and tuck some of the outer strands over its sides, leaving the main part of his fringe in place.

“There,” said Gintoki, sitting back down. “Perfect.”

“Yorozuya....” he said in a warning tone.

“Ah, come on, Hijikata-kun, it's just a bit of fun!”

Hijikata relaxed his shoulders and decided to light up a cigarette. Whatever, no one was around, he could let the idiot Yorozuya have his fun.

“It's just a shame I don't have a camera,” whined Gintoki. Hijikata turned to look at him and the moron was framing him with his thumbs and index fingers, one eye closed as if taking his picture.

Hijikata tossed him his cellphone. “Here.”

Gintoki caught the phone and looked up at him, gobsmacked. Hijikata sort of felt the same way. He had no idea why he had volunteered his phone. It wasn't like he wanted photo evidence of this. Something about this stupid strange setting was making him soft. He braced himself for Gintoki taking the picture, refusing to turn to face him.

Except, of course, because this was Gintoki, he just had to sling an arm over his shoulders, smash their bodies together and take a selfie as if they were the best of friends. Gintoki was ecstatic with the resulting picture: he had an oversized maniacal grin and Hijikata looked startled. His eyes were vulnerably wide and his lips parted in a small O shape, his cigarette almost falling out of his mouth. With the strawberry alice band as well, he looked a complete softie. He could never let anyone else see this picture. Though he did have to admit that his bangs had been very well cut, at least.

“All right, you've had your fun,” he said, taking off the headband.

“Aw, but you looked so gooood, Hijikata-kuuuun.”

“Yeah, yeah, now I really do have to get back.” He stood up, dusting off the hair left on his lap.

“Ah, sorry! What kind of hairdresser am I? Leaving you with all that...” Gintoki rose too and began to help him. Except helping him meant patting down his god damned _thighs_. And, of course, because it was this idiot, with his brash movements and lack of delicacy, one of his over-enthusiastic movements grazed Hijikata's crotch.

“Yoro- … Yorozuya...” Hijikata's tone was stuck between breathless and menacing.

Gintoki jumped back, eyes wide. “Oh, shit, sorry, Hijikata, ah... uh...” He flinched, bracing himself for the fist he expected in his face.

It didn't come. Gintoki squeezed one of his eyes open and looked at Hijikata. He was pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Why is it that you always know how to push my buttons?” he mumbled, then slid his hand down over his face.

“Hey! It's not Gin-san's fault! Maybe you're just touch-starved! When was the last time you were with a woman?”

_Thwack_ . Ah, there was the punch that Gintoki had been expecting. 

Hijikata took a long drag on his cigarette and then looked down at Gintoki who was slumped on the ground.

“Thanks for the haircut, Yorozuya. I'll be sure to recommend you if anyone in the Shinsengumi is looking for a barber who specializes in sexual harassment.”

Gintoki groaned and rubbed at his jaw. Hijikata started to walk away.

“Oi, Hijikata!” called Gintoki as he stood back up. Hijikata looked over his shoulder. “Make sure you get a print out of that picture to me as payment.”

“Tch.” Hijikata turned away and raised his hand above his shoulder to say goodbye.

Gintoki smiled as he walked off in the other direction. He rubbed his thumb over the fabric of the pink headband Hijikata had left on the bench. He would get a hold of that picture if it was the last thing he did.

  
  


***

Many hours later in the dead of night, Sarutobi came running over to the bench with small strands of black hair littered around it. She was dragging an enormous geriatric red cow behind her.

“Come on, Akabeko-chan!” she scolded, pulling on the rope. The poor old cow just wanted to lie down. “Gin-saaaaaan!” Sarutobi's shrill voice called out, “I only managed to find the cow! Gin-saaaaaaan!”


End file.
